King Charles III banknotes raise £914,127 for good causes
Melanie May | 13 August 2024 | News
Auctions and a public ballot for King Charles III banknotes have raised £914,217 for ten UK charities this summer.
Held by Spink & Sons for the Bank of England, four auctions took place, for £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes, with Bank of England Chief Cashier and Executive Director of Banking, Sarah John, opening the bidding on the first lot for the £5 auction.
The benefitting charities are the Bank of England’s current three charities of the year: The Childhood Trust, The Trussell Trust and Shout, as well as Carers UK, Demelza, WWF-UK, The Brain Tumour Charity, London’s Air Ambulance Charity, Child Bereavement UK and Samaritans. The additional seven are previous charities of the year that had not benefitted from the proceeds of a charity polymer banknote auction held since 2016. Each charity received over £91,400.
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The auction broke the record for the highest lot sold in a Bank of England banknote auction with a £50 sheet going for £26,000. This was followed by the £10 auction where a single note with the serial number HB01 00002 sold for £17,000.
Sarah John, Chief Cashier and Executive Director of Banking said:
“I am thrilled that the auctions and public ballot of low numbered King Charles III banknotes have raised a remarkable £914,127 that will be donated to ten charities chosen by Bank of England staff. Each charity does incredible work and the monies raised will have a positive impact on people and their communities across the UK.”
The King Charles banknotes mark the first time the Bank of England has changed a monarch on its banknotes. The late Queen Elizabeth II was the first monarch to appear, beginning with its Series C £1 banknotes in 1960.
The banknotes are a continuation of the current series with the serial numbers starting from the next available cypher following those previously used for notes featuring Queen Elizabeth II.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.